The Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday unanimously passed the Jat Reservation Bill in the Vidhan Sabha. The bill proposes to include Jats and five other castes in backward classes by bifurcation. On Monday, the Haryana Cabinet gave its nod to a bill providing reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to Jats and four other castes. The move came a day after protesters threatened to resume their agitation if their demands were not met by March 31, the last day of the Vidhan Sabha’s Budget Session.
The draft reservation bill proposed six per cent reservation for Jats and four other castes in Class-I and II government jobs, and 10 per cent reservation for the five castes in educational institutions and Class III and IV government jobs. The Jats had given an ultimatum till April 3 to the state government to meet their demand of reservation. A meeting of Jats from 13 states is likely to be held in New Delhi on April 3 to discuss the reservation issue and further course of action. At least 30 people lost their lives and over 320 were injured, besides private and government property suffered losses to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees, during the Jat agitation and subsequent violence in February.
